iOS 5

Everything You Need To Know About iOS 5

The interface looks a lot like the existing iOS texting, but the big difference is that iMessage doesn't use your carrier's text service, so there are no fees to send images.

iOS 5, Apple’s latest iPhone and iPad operating system, is out today and, at press time, we’re still hammering the Check for Update button like we’re playing Track and Field on the original Nintendo. The list of features is pretty big (wireless AirPlay video mirroring, PC/Mac-less device activation and syncing, mail updates, iCloud goodness, camera accessible from the lock screen, etc.), but here are the major additions to look forward to.

iOS 5 Features

First up is Reminders, Twitter and Notification Center. It’s not much of a secret that Android has had better notifications for a while now, so these are Apple’s superfixes for telling you stuff without being a douche about it. Aside from putting Twitter everywhere (Steve Jobs’ last move to spite Mark Zuckerberg), messages are now non-modal, so they don’t force you to deal with them, and notifications don’t steal focus from something else you’re doing. New emails, reminders, texts, Twitter direct messages, Facebook friend requests, etc. — they all go here and they play nice together. The lock screen also shows the notification list, and it’s all controlled by the notifications preferences, so it’s not spamming you unless you’re Hawaiian and you like spam.

Next up is iMessage, the new direct-messaging app that is like Apple’s Blackberry Messenger, without the flames and looting. The interface looks a lot like the existing iOS texting, but the big difference is that iMessage doesn’t use your carrier’s text service, so there are no fees to send images, unless you love this thing so much that it pushes you over your data limit. Sexting has never been so affordable.

Last is Newsstand, Apple’s magazine and publication shelf. What’s it look like? Imagine iBooks had sex with iOS folders and they had a baby that updated as new issues of your favorite newspaper or mag came out. Now go wash your brain.